002

The Pawn?

      Hanging his jacket on the towel rack behind him, Baekhyun took a cotton ball and poured some alcohol on it, then dabbed the cuts sprawled across his hands. He grimaced and muttered a curse, the frustration only causing him to press harder against the blood. When he covered most of the dashes, he moved to his face, eyes reddening as the stench made it to his cornea. “Crap,” he winced and squeezed his eyes together, then threw the piece of polyester into the trashcan. Dragging his hands down his face, he gripped the corner of the sink and took a long look at himself in the mirror.      What was that today? He thought. If that man--Chanyeol--hadn’t shown up, he would have been as good as dead. Not to mention that Aileen would have suffered a rather gruesome death, and he would have done nothing but carried the guilt.      He analyzed the reflection in front of him and tightened his jaw. What was he even doing? Was Coborn Tech really the place for him? Nothing was going like he envisioned it to be. But what did he even expect? Everything to suddenly go as planned as soon as he was out of that country?     Out of nowhere, the sound of streaming water entered his ears and drowned out his thoughts, and he realized that the faucet had still been running. Turning it off, he shook his head and unlocked the door to leave. He shouldn’t be thinking of this, not at this moment.      Outside, the police station was swarming with officers going left and right, and he thought that if it was that hectic there, then it must have been two times worse at Coburn Tech. Attempting to push through the crowded area, he waited outside the interrogation room, where he had spoken of what he had witnessed.      Across the room he saw Chanyeol standing by the gunman, who was in handcuffs. He was talking to one of the officers, and from what Baekhyun could hear, he was pleading for him.      “Can’t you see that Filib was put up to this? You shouldn’t be convicting him, you should be working with him.” He could hear Chanyeol say, exasperated.      “Listen, as long as he cooperates, we’re going to help him. If he continues to stay quiet about who hired him then we’re going to have problems. But we will help him find his daughter, that I promise you.” The officer reasoned,  “Chanyeol, trust me, we’ll handle it. You should go home, it’s close to midnight already.”      The sound of a door closing echoed and Baekhyun was ripped away from the whole debate as Aileen came out of the room. He stood up and approached her. “How was it? Are you okay?”      Her shoulders slumped and her arms were crossed over her chest, but fury could be seen glimmering in the depths of her irses. “Someone wants me dead. How okay do you expect me to be?” She had an edge to her voice, but it wasn't anything Baekhyun didn't expect.      He placed a hand on her shoulder in a futile attempt to give her reassurance. “I’m sure the police will find out who’s behind all of this.” She shook her head, tongue wetting dry skin. “They will never be able to find out.”      “Why do you say that?” Two lines formed between his brows, “The detectives are trained for things like this.”      “Because these people stay hidden in the dark and force everyone else to do their dirty work for them. If they do find something, it'll be the wrong clue.”      Baekhyun peered closely in suspicion, “They? How do you know it’s more than one person? You sound like you've dealt with something like this before.”      Aileen’s eyes darted up at him and she shook her head, “I don’t. I only assumed. One person couldn’t possibly have that much power over someone else.”      “Well, it looks like they’re going to convict Filib so you’re going to be safe.” No matter what he said, Aileen was still despondent and he really couldn’t blame her.      “You do not get it, Baekhyun,” her scottish accent was harder and more tight, as if it was sore. “Even if this guy ends up in jail, there is going to be another one to make sure the job is done.”      Baekhyun released her and worried his lips. She sounded like she knew more than she was letting on. But she was the CEO of a billion dollar company, and at only 26 years old. Her intuition and intelligence is what got her there, so Baekhyun was not going to question the reliability of her words.      “I don’t like the sound of any of this. You should have your guards with you at all times from now on. I can arrange it, if you need me to.”      She took in a breath and released it into a small, sad smile. “I can handle it, but thank you.” Her eyes then flickered to a source behind Baekhyun, and they frowned even moreso. Forehead wrinkling, he turned to see what it was and found Sehun walking towards them, sight fixed on Aileen only. “Sehun. You’re here--”      “--Save it. I didn’t show up at the company just to say hi. I came to give this back to you.” He shoved a package into her chest with no emotion whatsoever.      Aileen looked down at it and then back up at him, Baekhyun stared on and considered leaving, for this seemed to be a battle of the siblings, a place where he was sure he didn’t belong.      “This is for you, Sehun. Why are you giving it back to me?”      Sehun let out a laugh of mockery, mirthless and bitter. “You know, I expected you to be less ruthless after almost dying. How